6 months ago
43
How Can Man Die Better, authored by Benjamin Pogrund, gives the reader a mental picture of the “Prof”, as Robert Sobukwe was affectionately known. According to then prime minister BJ Vorster’s assessment, Sobukwe was a menace to white SA, and a dangerous enemy who, from the perspective of Afrikaner Nationalist rule, had to be curbed.
This was proven by the introduction of the Sobukwe Clause, and the Prof was the only person against whom it was used. The Sobukwe Clause was a resolution of the Nationalist parliament which could be extended because it intended to curb or isolate Sobukwe.
The Prof was intelligent, brave, selfless, kind and very honest. But here is my sadness about him – compared to other political figures in SA whose previous voices and speeches can be heard in file material – there’s one file material without the voices or speeches of Sobukwe, Why?
South Africans and Africans deserve to hear the speeches of Sobukwe. Why is his voice kept a secret? Yes, we know that the Prof was feared by the Nationalist and the capitalist class the world over, but to keep his voice like a commodity that is unwanted is a total betrayal to the black nation globally.
In Pogrund’s book, Vorster admitted that Sobukwe was like a magnet because he was followed by a huge crowd everywhere he went, and the Prof had white people who understood his vision of one “human race”.
So, I want to plead with our government of national unity led by President Cyril Ramaphosa to spare no time or energy to engage in a genuine struggle to make the voices and speeches of Sobukwe available.
If a country claims to be independent and free from colonial power but fails to preserve its history and culture, that country is not free at all. Preserving and owning Sobukwe’s rich history and memories is not only the correct thing to do but the very ethical thing to do for all South Africans, especially to his family and grandchildren.
Mthetheleli Mandla, Mogale City
